Thank you Crystal! I just love and appreciate all of the support so very much!

Court went well Tues. It was stressful and exhausting, but it came out in our favor for now. There are actually two petitions filed, but we were told that neither petition would go through. We have to go through the motions though and the two people who filed (both very nice old ladies) get visitation. They share it with mom so nothing in our schedule changed thankfully but I feel bad for mom having to share her time. I know it makes her sad. We have court again Feb 25th to hear the ruling on the petitions and right now EVERYONE is against both of them and is in favor of her staying with us. The judge makes the final ruling but usually takes the recommendation of everyone involved, social worker, CASA advocates, and Guardian ad Litem (baby's lawyer).

There was also a man there who was court ordered to take a DNA test. So I have to take baby girl to get her cheek swabbed this week. We hear the results of that on Feb 25th as well. If he isn't the father mom has to testify to who all it could be.

They did say to expect her to be here until July at least which is the next foster care review. Mom is supposed to be working her case plan for the time being, but she's had some trouble with her meds recently. She's also mentioned that she's thinking of signing over her rights but I'm not sure how seriously we can take that right now. She's mentioned it a few times (to others not to us yet) and brought it up with the CASA representative at court. We don't know where that will lead and are taking that one step at a time right now.

Overall it went pretty well and she should be here until July at least. She'll be 9 months old then and the longer she stays the better. She's absolutely precious and she smiles and coos and laughs and is just the best. Poor thing is cutting SIX teeth though. She isn't even 3 months yet. She has grouchy evenings but is otherwise in a great mood considering. Lol.

Thanks for all the support! I love this forum and all of the wonderful people I've met here.

Do you know how old the other ladies are? My grand parents did foster care way back when. When my mom was in her teens they had a set of sisters placed with them and fell in love. They petitioned for adoption, but because they were in their 40's the court gave the girls to a younger couple in their early 30's. The court favors younger parents if a "viable" blood relative doesnt step up.

Fingers crossed, and prayers being said that things continue to go well. Def give her extra snuggles for those owie teeth Have you tried the teething tablets? Those worked great for my kids

The other ladies are both much older. One of them doesn't want the baby anyway. Mom lives with this lady and she just petitioned so that the mom could care for her under their roof which the court won't allow. This woman isn't a blood relative. The other lady is even older I think and she adopted the mom's first child who is 12 now. They said it goes beyond just her age and health but I saw her at court and I highly doubt she could lift a toddler or chase one around the house or stay up all night with a baby. She isn't a blood relative either because the kids have different father's and she's the father's mom. So far no blood relatives have come forward and unless they find bio dad and his family wants to have some involvement there won't be any. I think there's abuse in the mom's family also (possibly mom grew up with abuse herself) and so her family is automatically out.

I haven't tried teething tablets. I'm so used to baby girl being tiny and preemie size that I keep forgetting she's big enough now to use things she couldn't use before. Are teething tablets safe for any size and how do they work? She's 9lbs now and almost 3 months.

Sounds like odds are def in your favor. Poor messed up situation, but at least she has a safe, stable, place with you :

They are all natural so I believe they should be fine. Check the bottle for how many to give. I usually put them at the side of their gums and feeding them to give it to them. You also can give infant tylonal. I would just check with the pharmasist or a nurse for the exact dosaging.

I'm so happy to read this news Leah! Lots of t&p headed your way for the future

As for the teething, DD1 was the same, the least amount of teeth she cut at once was 4, and she had all her teeth including her 2 year molars by the time she hit 9 months! It was rough sometimes. Our pediatrician recommended Infants Motrin (or any other brand infants ibuprofen) #1 because it lasts longer than Tylenol, typically 8 hrs and #2 because it reduces swelling at the same time so it eases the discomfort 2 ways (their little gums swell). He had told us not to let it wear off, until after the tooth was through to ease her pain, but if your LO is only having trouble in the evening she most likely only needs it then.

Another thing I used were a frozen washcloths, just damp and frozen (in a baggie in the freezer so it didn't get dirty), pop it out of the bag and she could gum that as it thawed, again helped with pain and swelling.

I'm so happy to read this news Leah! Lots of t&p headed your way for the future

As for the teething, DD1 was the same, the least amount of teeth she cut at once was 4, and she had all her teeth including her 2 year molars by the time she hit 9 months! It was rough sometimes. Our pediatrician recommended Infants Motrin (or any other brand infants ibuprofen) #1 because it lasts longer than Tylenol, typically 8 hrs and #2 because it reduces swelling at the same time so it eases the discomfort 2 ways (their little gums swell). He had told us not to let it wear off, until after the tooth was through to ease her pain, but if your LO is only having trouble in the evening she most likely only needs it then.

Another thing I used were a frozen washcloths, just damp and frozen (in a baggie in the freezer so it didn't get dirty), pop it out of the bag and she could gum that as it thawed, again helped with pain and swelling.

again - so happy it went well!

You cant give babies under 6 months IBprofen any more. They have found that their bodies just cant process it very well till they are a bit older

You cant give babies under 6 months IBprofen any more. They have found that their bodies just cant process it very well till they are a bit older

I was wondering about this. I heard it somewhere recently and didn't know if it was true or not and was going to ask the doc but I forgot. She does pretty well with tylenol but she needs teething tablets or something too for when she's really fussy. Thankfully she's the easiest baby in the world over all so even her bad moods are pretty mild.

Leah I'm so happy to see that everything is going great for you and baby girl! I just happened upon this post and am so glad I did. I'm glad court went well for you guys though the experience had to be so nerve wracking. It really sounds as if baby girl will be safest and happiest with you two as her parents and I pray that you can make that permanent very soon!

Hey Leah. I'm sorry that I didnt put this out there before, and I totally understand if you dont feel comfortable coming back, but you are more than welcome to join in on the Nov. board again. We'd all love to hear from you, how you and fam are doing, and all about baby girl. I know that its harder to share things given the fact that she is a foster child, but we are here if you ever want to join in